R&B ran things for urban music this past week, just as 2008 saw many weeks before Tha Carter III arrived. In their 25th year, Metallica assumed the top spot again, with their Death Magnetic, selling over 335,000 units in its second work on the charts. Ne-Yo‘s [click to read] Year of the Gentleman [click to read] held the #3 place with a strong second week in stores. One of Ne-Yo‘s crooning forefathers, Joe, returned with his newest album, also cracking the Top 10, with a #8 showing
Young Jeezy [click to read] still snuggled his way into the Top 10, with his Recession [click to read] taking the #9 spot, with a chance of going gold this week. The Game [click to read] returned in a major way this week. His LAX [click to read] bypassed recent releases from LL Cool J and Nelly, but still sold just over 6,000 units less than Lil Wayne [click to read], who still remains a force to be reckoned with in his third edition of Tha Carter [click to read]
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| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total | |
| 3 | Ne-Yo | Year Of The Gentleman | 82,614 | 333,215 | |
| 8 | Joe | Joe Thomas New Man | 54,135 | 54,243 | |
| 9 | Young Jeezy | Recession | 40,479 | 450,863 | |
| 11 | Lil Wayne | Tha Carter III |
|
2,448,665 | |
| 14 | The Game | LAX | 29,241 | 447,877 |
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
Falling 16 spots in a week, Nelly [click to read] may be showing that he’s lost ground as one of Hip Hop’s most commercial artists. Brass Knuckles [click to read] cracked 100,000 units in two weeks, but has already given way to tattooed gangsters Nelly‘s junior. Another warning sign may be evident in DJ Khaled‘s [click to read] We Global. With projections of a slow and steady performance on the charts, the Miami deejay seems to suffer a bit without packing a monster single in his third album, doubling his rank in a week.
R&B veteran Rapheal Saadiq‘s critically-acclaimed album The Way I See It [click to read] fell to #41 in its second week.
Hip Hop’s big surprise on the charts this week is Houston rapper and ABN affiliate Z-Ro. The Rap-A-Lot Records veteran’s Crack proves to be matching Shawty Lo‘s performance, with the Asylum-distributed album cracking the Top 50, and selling over 10,000 in its debut week. Lastly, B.G. [click to read] and his Chopper City Boyz also entered on the Top 200, with their Life In The Concrete Jungle last week, but unlike Slim Thug and similar artists, have held onto position, staying at #182, selling just over 3,000 units.
Other Notables
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 19 | Nelly | Brass Knuckles | 25,559 | 109,564 |
| 28 | DJ Khaled | We Global | 18,054 | 67,627 |
| 41 | Raphael Saadiq | The Way I See It | 12,264 | 35,887 |
| 48 | Z-Ro | Crack | 10,465 | 10,517 |
| 182 | B.G. & Chopper City Boyz | Life In The Concrete Jungle | 3,220 | 8,478 |
Can T.I. get a position fit for a King? Will Big Kuntry go with him on Grand Hustle‘s double-release day. Does underground Hip Hop stand with Heltah Skeltah and Termanology coming? Moreover, will Murs convince major labels that the DIY artist can compete with the ringtone rapper? And will Large Professor get his due return to the charts? A busy week will reflect this next week on the charts…
